You know how this specific biopic is going to begin. In fact, you want it to begin and end so, and no other way. And yet you have goosebumps when you watch it. That is the power of your fandom and your love for the game. The makers would have to really mess it up to take that away from you. They don’t.

I was engaged more than I expected to be. I had inadvertently tight muscles till the culprit was obvious. But then again, I scare easily. If you want to be spooked but not too seriously, you could just skim through this one when there’s nothing else on TV.

The problem is that all the elements exist – romantic angle, the betrayal, the hardship, the setbacks – but they all seem rather perfunctory. None of them get your attention, let alone make it pique. Of course, it is all predictable – that is a given for any underdog story anyway, isn’t it?

There is only so much an ordinary story can stand on its actor’s shoulders. Even if they are as broad as that of Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

The unwieldy narration makes Baar Baar Dekho a tiring watch. The romance doesn’t coo enough. The comedy is almost non-existent. The time travel bit makes it look like it is an attakh on nerds rather than the concept of passion for work. Let alone the question of why we are attacking the passion in the first place.

Kabali was always going to be 100% about Rajinikanth’s super stardom. It was going to be about his action, his style, his persona. The character Kabali would be designed to suit that purpose. Unfortunately, it doesn’t blend well at all with this attempt at “gang war with a heart”.

Sultan doesn’t get boring. The music is engaging, the visuals are crisp and fight sequences from the second half arrest your attention while they last. They take the edge off the flat plot, yet not a whole lot.

It is an important film. It is a courageous film even. The film does some things really well. But, it isn’t necessarily an absorbing one.

With little in the story beyond the basic premise, Tere Bin Laden Dead or Alive ends up just killing its potential to be lively. See, I am bored enough to do bad puns too. Better stop here.

Aside from telling a story about the events of PAN AM 73, Neerja has a lovely layer of woman empowerment sewed into the fabric of the film. This is not just about the woman’s grit because she is a woman. But also about being wanted as a girl child, about her independent spirit and about her having to stand-up against labels and what was wrong.

The drama though limited, is very typical to that of any film which wants a grand finale. This unfortunately, makes the film even more predictable than it already is.